


Ouranos

by VespidaeQueen



Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: Dates, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Gen, Science Experiments
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-05
Updated: 2013-08-04
Packaged: 2017-12-22 11:33:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 2,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/912711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VespidaeQueen/pseuds/VespidaeQueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jane looks to the sky.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hypothesis

**Author's Note:**

> A series of loosely connected drabbles about Jane Foster.

 In the days that follow, she analyzes. She has so much data - of the sky, of the Bifrost, of things that she had only dreamed of until then. As she analyzes the data and waits for Thor’s return, the readings and his absence make her form a hypothesis based upon her observations.

Observation one: there are no more traces of the Bifrost’s energy in the sky.

Observation two: Thor has not returned despite assuring her he would. Assuming he had not lied or changed his mind (a possibility, but one she did not dwell upon), then he likely can  _not_  return.

Her hypothesis, then, is this: if Thor’s return is dependent upon the use of the Bifrost and there are no signs of the Bifrost and no return of Thor, then Bifrost is not functioning. Opening the Bifrost or something similar from her end will probably send the universe into an uproar (and maybe destroy the planet), but _could_ lead to the return of Thor.

Darcy adds her own flare to the hypothesis, and Jane has to admit that she rather likes it. Even if it _is_  a pretty badly worded bit of hypothesizing.

Now, all she has to do was test the hypothesis and see if it is right or not. Which is easier said than done.

She disregards the possibility that whatever caused the Bifrost to cease functioning could have harmed Thor to the point that he was unable to travel back to where she is. Because that is not something she wants to dwell on.


	2. Tech

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set post-Avengers.

"So, New York," Darcy says, hooking her laptop up to the TV and getting it all set up for movie night. “That’s pretty big."

Jane shrugs as she pulls bottles of beer from the fridge and makes sure they have enough snacks. They’re marathoning bad sci-fi movies again, something which has become a staple of their weekends. “It’s just New York."

"Yeah, but…you’re going to meet  _Tony Stark_. That’s kind of big." Darcy starts the movie and flops down on the couch. “You’re going to have to tell me  _all_  about it." She wiggles her eyebrows at Jane, who then throws a pillow at her.

"I’m only interested in his tech, Darcy." She grabs a beer and sits back beside her. “Apparently he’s taken a personal interest in my research."

"Well, he  _did_  hang out with your alien boyfriend," Darcy says. She gets quiet for a moment after that, looking to Jane. “Wish we could have got to New York to see him."

Jane shakes her head a bit and gives a short laugh. “I don’t think  _anyone_  wanted to be in New York City while he was there. It sounds like it was kind of dangerous. But at least he left a message."

They both sort of grin at that, because apparently no one had told Thor to speak quietly on a phone and Darcy had been able to hear the message he left from halfway across the lab.

Jane finally glances at the TV and makes a face. " _Darcy_. What are we watching?"

“ _Sharktopus_ ," Darcy says, and grins.


	3. Science

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Science buddies cubed.

When Jane Foster and Tony Stark first meet, it goes something like this:

Tony: I looked over your equations. It’s not half bad. Kind of impressive, actually.

Jane: I tried out the tech you supplied me with. It’s didn’t explode. That’s pretty awesome.

And then they went off and did science together.

Or, well, it  _kind_  of went like that. Darcy is, of course, glossing over all of the kind of jerk-y comments they throw at each other and how much they actually argue over their science stuff and she loses track of what they’re actually talking about after maybe five minutes.

When a guy with messy dark hair comes in, Darcy initially think  _hey_ , maybe something to break up the sheer amount of  _science_  coming from the lab. Except the guy turns out to be  _Bruce Banner_ , who she’s heard Jane talk about because of something about radiation, which they both work with, and so then the whole thing just becomes even  _more_  science until Darcy is pretty sure the whole room is just going to collapse into a black hole of science feelings.

But, well, since Jane’s trying to open a wormhole through space, Darcy supposes that if they managed to make a black hole out of science that maybe it’s sort of similar.

It’s only when they start setting up some sort of mechanical thing and she hears words like “don’t let it explode" that she  _really_  starts to worry.


	4. Cooking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skipping right past Thor's return to fluffy things.

The first few times Thor and Jane make dinner together, Thor’s role is more to observe and move things around. He accidentally breaks a bit of the stove when Jane asks him to turn on one of the burners, and Jane is caught somewhere between amusement at the look on his face and exasperation at yet another thing being broken.

Still, Thor learns quickly, and once the learning curve of how to operate human appliances is overcome (he only shatters one Starkphone before learning how much force can be applied to a touchscreen, after all) he starts doing more and more of the cooking. Which Jane is fine with, since it turns out that Thor has more patience for making elaborate or complicated dishes than she does.

"It is something I have been learning to do, in my spare time," he tells her one evening as he carefully cuts vegetables on the cutting board. “I have much downtime at the Tower, when there are no threats to vanquish."

Jane nods a little as she peels a clove of garlic before passing it to him. “Time well spent, I’d say," she tells him. “I never would have guessed that the god of thunder would be such a fantastic cook."

Thor smiles. “I have found that it is something I quite enjoy," he says, then takes the garlic and crushes it under the flat portion of his knife before chopping it. “It is not something I put much thought into until I came here; I suppose it is yet another thing that Midgard has given me."


	5. Subway

When Thor first hears of these things called subways, he is skeptical. A small metal contraption that moves beneath the earth - he is not certain that it sounds a particularly efficient way to travel.

But. Apparently the subway is the proper way to move about New York easily, and since he has been talked to about the importance of  _not_  flying everywhere, especially when he is not wearing his armor, Thor has finally decided to learn what this thing is.

Jane manages to keep him from bludgeoning through the turnstiles - “you have to pay  _first_ , Thor" - which is probably good because these particular metal contraptions are very flimsy and would not keep out a true enemy trying to gain entrance to the subway. He tells Jane this as she pays the fare for both of them and she shakes her head a little bit.

Then they have to wait, and Thor does not really understand why this is supposed to be an efficient means of transportation. He could easily fly to where he needs to get to - he could even fly Jane with him, and they wouldn’t have to wait for these underground train things.

And then the contraption arrives and they have to wait for people to exit and  _then_  they get to board the thing. Only there are no seats so they stand, holding onto a very flimsy metal bar that would serve as no real support if they were to crash.

When the transport comes to a stop, the strength of that metal bar is severally tested, as Thor’s size and the unexpected stop means that he is thrown back a bit.

He sheepishly bends the bar back into place (though the fact that the top has now pulled away from the ceiling means it is even less useful now) and exits the subway with Jane.


	6. Movie Night

"Okay, what are we watching?" Jane kicks off her shoes and drops down on the couch beside Darcy. Or, at least, tries to. The other woman is taking up entirely too much room and so there is a brief, awkward moment where Darcy rearranges herself just enough for Jane to sit down, then drapes her legs over Jane’s lap.

“ _Captain America versus Alien Zombies_ ," Darcy says, stretching to reach the remote where it lies on the ground. “It’s a really bad 80s horror flick with a Steve Rogers look-a-like that actually looks nothing like him."

"I could have guessed from the name." She says it dryly. “Isn’t it in bad taste to have made a zombie movie about a national hero?"

Darcy shrugs. “I dunno. I mean, we’ve got movies like  _Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter_  now. Also, I heard about this one called  _Jesus Christ: Vampire Hunter_ , so I don’t think having Cap fight zombies is the worst concept for a movie about a dead guy. A frozen in ice guy. Um."

Jane flicks popcorn at her. “All right, Darc. Start up the movie."


	7. Planetarium

"So…it is a theater where upon images of the stars are placed?" Thor asks as he and Jane walk hand in hand into the room. A domed top stretches above them, a white material which currently shows nothing. The seats are slanted back at an angle, far more than any seats in theaters his been in before. “It is…a cinema for stars?"

"Exactly." Jane leads him to the front row of seats. They’ve found that finding seats in theaters is a bit difficult, since his legs are so long that close set seats don’t work, but he’s tall enough and large enough that sitting in front of anyone normally leads to blocking their line of sight. But this planetarium is set up differently, and the slanted seats means the only real concern is his legs.

They sit down and wait for the show to start. He twines his fingers through Jane’s and she rests her head against his shoulder briefly - though that position is too uncomfortable in the strange seats to do it for long. But then the theater darkens and he stares up into the domed ceiling where suddenly there is blackness marked with stars.

They are Midgard’s stars, the constellations unfamiliar save for what Jane has told him off, but then they move and he and Jane sit and listen to a voice tell them of the stars and the speculation of the universe around them. It is a tiny glimpse of the galaxy as those of Midgard can imagine it, and Thor grins through the whole thing, glancing over at Jane several times to see her smiling up at the images of the stars projected over their heads.


	8. Stars

There is too much light pollution in the city; even at the darkest point in the night, it is hard to see the stars. Many nights, Thor has sat at the top of Stark Tower - now Avengers Tower, filled with people who he has fought with and now calls friends - and looked out, seeing only the stars that the city lights do not block out.

Near to the end of the summer, Thor and Jane go outside the city limits. Tony laughs at the idea when Thor brings it up - camping is not on Stark’s list of things he likes to do, apparently - but Steve smiles when he hears about the plans and claps Thor on the shoulder, telling him that they’ll call him if anything comes up while he’s gone.

Thor remembers to take his Avengers ID card with him this time. Steve has been  _very_  clear about him needing to remember it at all times.

They hike some ways out, and set up camp. The tent isn’t too difficult to set up, though Thor accidentally snaps one of the struts that holds taught the attachable canopy. Jane rolls her eyes and puts the broken bits aside, saying that it’s all right, there’s no forecast of rain.

When it gets dark, they go out to a clearing where they can see the night sky unobstructed by stars. They sit down, leaning against an old fallen tree, and look up, Jane resting against Thor.

After a time, Thor stretches out an arm and points. “There. I have found it."

Jane tips her head back and tries to follow the line of his arm. She has to move until she sits in his lap, his other arm curled around here. “There?"

"There." He smiles, though she cannot see it. “That is where my home is."


	9. Puppies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Featuring Kid Loki from Journey into Mystery.

"Thori doesn’t like her," Loki explains somewhat apologetically, when he leaves the puppy at Thor and Jane’s apartment.

"Loki," Thor says as the puppy bounces around the room.

"I can’t exactly explain _how_  I got her - a convenient series of events, really, brother, it would take an entire afternoon to explain -"

Thor lets out sigh. “Loki."

"And, really, all I need to do is have you look after her for an afternoon. This afternoon, in fact. While I, ah - well, let’s not go into what I’m doing, either. Just that it will deal with the dog situation."

“ _Loki._ ”

Loki stops talking and looks up at him, blinking owlishly with a look of feigned innocence. “Yes, brother?"

The puppy has decided to go after Thor’s cloak, which he’d left draped over the back of the couch, thinking it would be safe.

"Make sure you come back and get it by tonight," he says, a Loki is halfway out the door by the time Thor has gotten two words out.

He remembers his brother being rather like this the first time he was a kid. He shouldn’t be surprised that he’s like this now.

The puppy is a small thing, but full of energy, and it goes at Thor’s cloak, teeth closing on the hem and shaking. Before she can drag it across the apartment, Thor’s grabbed the other end of the cloak and holds fast. It’s not much a tug of war as it is a small creature trying to move something immovable, and eventually the puppy drops the cloak, looks up at him, and yips.

When Jane comes back from the lab later that day, she finds nearly everything in the living room overturned.

"We’re not keeping that," she says as she comes in, setting her bag on the counter instead of the floor, the puppy bounding across the room to dart at her feet. “Thor, no, stop looking me like that, we  _cannot_  keep a dog here." 


	10. Petrichor

There is a storm, one that he does not call. It rains heavy, hard, thick fat drops that spill onto the rooftops, filling gutters, falling fast to splash on the ground. The dust turns to mud and streets fill with puddles.

Jane has always loved storms. She loves the electricity that strikes through the sky, the sound, the smell. How the rain comes and washes things away.

Until Thor, she did not know how someone could feel and sound and smell and taste like a storm.


	11. Future

Despite all the preparations they have made, all the times they have talked about it, all the time she’s spent thinking about this and what to do, Jane’s stomach still gives the most awful flip it has ever done when they walk out before all of Asgard.

Well, it isn’t  _all_  of Asgard. That seems patently impossible, especially because her estimation of the population size couldn’t possibly fit inside this room or even all into the courtyard.

She stands straight and holds her head up, and Thor’s hand holds hers carefully. She is fairly certain that his palm is sweaty, and maybe he is just as nervous as she is.

Actually, no. She knows he is nervous about this. So nervous, nervous to the point that Frigga had to take him to the side and speak to him earlier that day. But now he is composed, and so is she.

Jane takes a deep breath and looks out at all of Asgard, because she is Jane Foster of Earth who rebuilt the Bifrost and she can do this.


End file.
